Cipriano Calderón Polo (1 December 1927 – 4 February 2009) was a Spanish prelate of the Catholic Church who worked as a journalist, editor, spokesperson, and administrator as an expert in explaining Church affairs to the Spanish-language public and in helping two popes, Paul VI and John Paul II, manage their relationship with the bishops of Latin America.
[2] He returned to Rome to study for a doctorate in theology at the Pontifical Lateran University and combined his academic work with journalism.
[citation needed] At the beginning of the Second Vatican Council he became rector of the Spanish Pontifical College of Rome and between 1962 and 1965 he was employed by the Holy See's Secretariat of State as head of its Spanish-language press office.
[5] On 26 November 1988, Pope John Paul II appointed vice president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America,[7] and he was assigned as a bishop the titular see of Thagora on 3 December.
[1] Calderón accompanied Pope John Paul on all his trips to Latin America both before and after joining the Commission.
[1] On 4 October 2003, Pope John Paul II accepted his resignation which he had submitted as required upon reaching the age of 75.
[2][9] He died of side effects of cancer after being hospitalized for several days in the Pio XI clinic in Rome on 4 February 2009.